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back to Scary Bear Attacks!
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Today’s episode takes us to a forest service campground just a few miles from McKenzie,
British Columbia.
The rolling hills are crowded with dense stands of fir and pine trees with grasses and bushes
growing in any open ground.
The elevation varies between about 3000 to 4500 ft and the landscape is dotted with lakes,
ponds and several national parks and nature conservancies.
Wildlife in the area is extremely diverse featuring caribou, moose, elk, whitetail and
blacktail deer, sheep and goats as well as wolves, wolverines and brown and black bear.
On Saturday, May 10th, 2015 twenty seven year old Daniel “Ward” O'connor and his young
fiance Jami Wallace had plans to camp the entire summer in an RV and had staked their
campsite along the Parsnip River.
Ward, as Daniel was affectionately known, loved nature, the forest and the bush.
Everyone that knew him loved him and his innocent smile.
Upon learning the young lovers' plans, friends asked if they were afraid and inquired as
to whether they had any firearms with them.
They were not afraid and did not pack bear spray nor any firearms based on the sources
found.
The couple had, a few days prior filmed a wolf sniffing around their campground and
were excited to be surrounded by the peaceful and tranquil woods they so loved.
May 10th was a great day with wonderful weather.
After spending the day together, the couple gathered more firewood and gazed at the stars,
embracing their freedom.
Around 1:30 AM Jami was overcome with sleepiness and decided to go to bed.
She entered the motorhome and prepared herself for the night's rest.
Ward was so comfortable in his favorite setting he decided the night was too perfect to waste
inside of the motorhome and rolled out his bed next to the campfire.
Lulled by the sounds of the forest, he had no reservations about closing his eyes and
drifting off to sleep.
For Jami, the night was uneventful.
She woke up and got ready to go outside where she assumed Ward would be waking up, if not
stoking the fire back to life for the day.
She exited the motorhome and looked at the smoldering fire with Wards bedding somewhat
scattered about.
As she approached the firepit she could see a large blood trail leading off into the woods.
Jami immediately began to be very concerned and started yelling for Ward.
She screamed and yelled loudly for him but received no response.
Jami then recruited the help of their dog and tried to get him to find Ward, but the
dog was terrified and wouldn’t leave the motorhome.
Jami bravely followed the blood trail and found the body of Ward.
The bear was nowhere to be found and she had no cell service.
Jami rushed back to the couples car and at 9:30 AM began the drive to Danny Oconnor’s
house, Wards father.
Danny and Jami rushed back to the campsite with their hearts in their throats.
Upon arriving, Danny began searching for his son among the bush.
He was compelled to find his son and see if there was any possibility he may still be
alive.
As Danny approached his son's body he could see a large black bear standing over Ward.
The bear was clearly defending his kill and was not going to be chased off by Danny.
Danny wisely returned to his truck to wait for RCMP and the BC Conservation Officer Service
to arrive at the scene.
After arriving, the authorities began approaching the kill site.
They located a lone wolf and shot it immediately.
A little while later they spotted a 305 pound black bear and dispatched it as well.
They were not certain which animal had killed Ward, or if both animals had fed on his body.
Ward's remains were recovered and brought to the coroner.
Ward's autopsy noted that there were no wolf marks on the remains.
The remains also had no defensive wounds on it like bites to the hands or arms.
This meant that the bear killed Ward very quickly and dragged him off immediately thereafter.
The wounds on Ward's body were clearly and exclusively caused by a bear attack.
Authorities labeled the attack as strictly predatory.
The question that I have is did the bear come in to investigate the same scents that the
wolf had previously smelled, and stumbled into the man while asleep prompting a defensive
attack that progressed into a predatory one?
Or, do you think, as his family and friends have expressed, that the bear had been stalking
the couple from the darkness and used the opportunity to launch a surprise predatory
attack?
Post your response or other questions in the comments and let's talk about it.
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remember to be safe out there, especially in bear country!